Sushma meets US Secretary of State, raises H1-B issue

`The two sides reviewed all aspects of the bilateral relationship, including expanding our trade and investment relations,` MEA spokesperson said.

New York: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday met US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly Session here and strongly raised the issue of H1-B visas.

"Deepening global strategic partnership, EAM @SushmaSwaraj meets with Rex Tillerson, US Secretary of State in their first standalone meeting," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted along with a picture of the two leaders.

"The two sides reviewed all aspects of the bilateral relationship, including expanding our trade and investment relations," Kumar said.

Both leaders discussed regional issues, with focus on Pakistan, Afghanistan and terrorism.

"EAM @SushmaSwaraj strongly raised the issue of H1B visa and children falling under DACA policy with Secretary Tillerson," Kumar said.

Trump has called for stricter norms for issuing H1-B visas, a move that will potentially affect a large number of Indian IT companies.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was an American immigration policy that allowed some individuals who entered the country illegally as minors to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and to be eligible for a work permit.

The policy was established by former US President Barack Obama`s administration in June 2012 and was rescinded by the Trump administration in September 2017.